Chapter 12: And So it Begins...

August 28, 2053

8:12 AM

Dear Diary,

I'm sorry for leaving you in the plane!! Forgive me. ( TT_TT) 

After the crash, I ended up leaving you alone in my traveling bag. It's a good thing I remembered about you or else you'd be at the bottom of that lake along with the remains of the plane. They popped the raft so there wouldn't be any trace remains for the Soldiers to find us.

Oh, Soldiers are the people that follow Zaroff. Leon calls them Zombies. A fitting name, I must agree.

Speaking of Leon, I don't know much about him. Right now we're in some kind of underground system. The base of the rebels. 

There's about fifty or so people down here. The rebelion group is much larger though, of course. Apparently they try to stay in smaller groups so as not to attract attention. And the person commanding nearly all the groups in Southern Germany is none other than Leon.

Neither Lucy nor Haine trust him, but Axel and Lexa ADORE him. And you know what they say. Children and animals are good judges of characters. 

As for me...there's something about him that makes me put all my trust in him. Whether I want to or not. He has some kind of aura that makes people follow him. A natural leader. 

~~

Quietly I sigh and close my dairy shut.

"How're ya doin'?" Braun asks, popping his head around the corner. He's a tall, skinny man with unnatural white hair and multi-colored flecks in his eyes, almost like a stained glass window. A smile is almost always plastered to that kind face of his. Fluent in almost seven different languages and skilled in medical practices, he's one of the most important members in Leon's rebellion.

"Not bad." I reply with a small smile, gently touching the bandages that wrap around my forehead. Braun comes over and begins examining my wounds from the crash.

"What's that?" He asks, pointing to the small brown book in my hands. "A diary?" I nod my head and he frowns.

"Captain Leon's not goin' to like that." He says with a sigh. "He doesn't like it when people keep secrets from 'im. He wants to make sure the people he's around ain't plannin' anythin' funny. Keeps 'im knowin' what's goin' on all the time, ya know? But I'm sure he'll let ya get away with it. Because yer the Miss."

"Is that so?" I ask. "Speaking of Leon...can you tell me more about him?"

"...Whadda ya want to know?" Braun replies.

"Anything and everything." I say. "I want to know the kind of person I'm following afterall." Suddenly Braun's eyes narrow, shooting a chill down my spine. He gets up and walks over to a tray with different medical supplies lying on it. Slowly, he picks up a scalpel and wipes it with a clean cloth. Though it's a simple act, the tension in the room is suddenly so suffocating I can hardly breathe.

"...Yer not a Zombie spy...are ya?" He asks coldly after a moment. My mouth drops open.

"Absolutely not!!" I exclaim frantically. "I just wanted to know more about Leon, that's all! Honestly!"

Braun exhales and just like that, the tension is gone. He turns and smiles at me.

"Hm." He nods. "I see why Leon likes ya so much. Yer honest." 

Braun walks over and sits beside me, his beautiful stained glass windows seeming to peer into my very soul.

"I've known Leon since we were kids." Braun begins slowly. "He's always been a fast judge of character. He'll see someone and either like 'em or hate 'em, just like that. It's usually the latter. Yer one of the few people he likes, if ya couldn't tell, Miss. Leon doesn't really like to open himself to people. He's like a snapping turtle, I guess. Haha, anyways, I believe there are two types of people in this world: those that lead and those that follow. And Leon is a leader. I'm sure you've noticed it, right? The way everyone here has got to do whatever he says? In all honesty, even I don't know all too much about him. He's always been someone you can trust though, I'll tell ya that...See this?" 

Braun suddenly s his shirt and pulls it down to show me his chest. I blush madly but he doesn't seem to care. I notice that even though he's thin, he's got a lean muscle build to put most guys to shame. He points to a scar he'd obviously recieved from a bullet, directly over where his heart is. I look at him questioningly.

"This thing would've killed me if it weren't for Leon." Braun explains. "He took a bullet for me, crazy nut. It went straight through him, but that stopped the bullet just enough to save my life. Because of that, I'm gunna fight with him in this war."

I stare at Braun, realizing I'm beginning to admire him. Then, just when everything seems to be looking up...

An explosion shakes the entire underground base.

I had a lot of fun with this chapter. :33

Thanks for reading!!! ♥

 I couldn't find any pictures on the internet, so I decided to draw a couple 30-second sketches of Braun. :)